Met Office senior forecaster Helen Chivers warned that winds could get up to 90mph and said the storm could be exceptional: "This is not a storm you see every winter.

"The storm of 1987 is one, and the Burns day storm in January 1990 is another."

Some gusts are likely to top 12 on the Beaufort Scale, a level of force which is equivalent to a hurricane, but winds will not stay consistently at this speed as they would in a real tropical storm.

The "amber alert" issued by the Met Office says the weather system is expected to arrive in the early hours of Monday and last until up to 9pm, with heavy rain also expected in western and central areas.

The predicted trajectory of the storm (MET OFFICE)

Residents were warned that the wind will have the potential to damage buildings, fell trees and cause blackouts by bringing down power lines.

The weather system itself, caused by an area of extremely low pressure and fuelled by the remnants of two storms from the North American continent, is likely to pass over mid-Wales, following a path across England to the Humber.

Areas to the south of it, especially on the south coast, will be hit by strong winds while regions to the north can expect heavy downpours.

Although this is viewed as the most likely path, forecasters insist the storm has not even formed yet and could still move further north, or equally shift south and miss England altogether.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Moxey advised that people in wind-affected areas wait until daylight, when debris will be visible, before travelling on Monday morning.

She said: "The amber warning comes with advice which is to be prepared for damage to buildings and to trees, telegraph lines could be blown down.

"If you are planning to travel in the early hours of Monday morning you might look at trying to put your journey off a little bit so that you can see if there is debris on the roads."

Britain was taken by surprise by The Great Storm in 1987. Watch BBC presenter Michael Fish's now infamous forecast.